rip on reality —

nce Chokes me, thoughts stagnating in the ordinary.

se my eyes, mundane’s grip dissolving.

massive hand squeezes my faithful club, sabretooths cowering in fearful respect.

elestial arm hurls my terrible thunderbolt, mortals trembling in awestruck reverence.

ailed fist swings my shining sword, Mordred falling in bloody defeat.

imble fingers draw my mighty bowstring, herriff cursing in murderous frustration.

urmuring lips stir my smoking pipe, n listening in respectful silence.

Wwk-like eyes guide my flashing six-guns, ots gaping in flat-footed surprise.

!-winged cape hides my ebon-gloved fist, ker recoiling in unexpected pain.

k to the heaven’s twinkle of eve, ‘another star brilliantly lit,

Eyes have done when I succeeded d when I was hurt.

my eyes are teared,

“s as you pass on, you’ll never die in my heart you live on, and you go, ‘oul filled search for God’s home.

alk, alone seemingly on a smaller path loest, the thought of your goodness Ne smile. the warmth of your soul HY spirit, as it always will.

‘isa little cooler nowas I say goodbye, | Wind brushes my cheek as you did *s before, whispering your goodbye

lo my ear, touching my face, you a final goodnight...I love you.

I open my eyes, The universe contracting.

Reality reclaims me, The librarian staring in concerned puzzlement.

Dormancy

Leaves sleep beneath a blanket, snowy white. Here also rests a figure, eyes closed tight.

Its feathers, stilled by slumber we call death, Now only stir with icy breeze’s breath.

The icicles hang mutely in the air.

The trees sleep in the coats of frost they wear. The water lies subdued in form of glass. Cruel frost has sheathed the brittle blades of glass.

The grass will soon enjoy rebirth in Spring, And as it reappears new birds will sing.

For this old bird no longer feels frost’s sting; Though body lies, its soul has taken wing.

Daniel LaRonde

Winter

Gnarled, twisted, bare

The clucking trees appear as fingers,

Grubby fingers of the criminal,

Trying to pluck the moon out of my night, Leaving me empty, Undone.

To the trees I scream for them

To stop stealing the jewel of the night

To loosen the grip on the stars

And untie the Aurora Borealis so it waves once more

Before the snow flies, Covering it all.

The soft cool wind whispers

As a woman in cool white would

And now I understand. Like all others

I saw the worst of life, bare, naked to the bark And the best, covered by leaves, I was wrong.

Each has their own leaf

To cover their shame from others, themselves But one day I realized my leaf must fall too, To show what others haven’t seen or known As the trees did with my night sky at winter

Mike Bertrand —

The Morsel's Lament

As the icy drops smacked into his brain His heart began to cry again

A single teardrop, a million eyes

Is what cynics now decry

The vampish cartwheelers try their tricks With Lies, the Bomb, and a Crucifix The spiders’ webs are not unseen

And still the flies are caught between The invisible slayers, the spiders’ wastes Are covered over with impressive haste Until a fly decides to taste

The waters, but by then its too late.

CHORUS

You writhe and wriggle,

struggle and squirm

And deny that the web is there You're like a pink, fat, juicy worm Underneath an eagle’s stare

The way out is too scary, he said And this leaves me paralysed

For if I escaped from the web

I'd stand out from the other flies

Verse II

After the water passes its lips

A thing will grow between its hips

It kills tomorrow’s children, then

It starts upon the very man

Who let it in unwittingly

And still is far too blind to see

That he is trapped beneath the strands And that he and the spider are holding hands But it’s too late to misbehave

For this fly just found an early grave

CHORUS

Verse III

The maggots are fattened up with glee And none of them will ever see

The fate of Mama and Papa

As the spider stuffs them in its maw They’re taught what to do and what to say (they’re more palatable that way)

The ones who shirk, and smell the trap Are soon wrung in with a snap

And those escapees who dodge the jaws Are not allowed a second’s pause

But are driven by the need to give Knowledge to the flies that they may live!

CHORUS 21